There shall be a Finance Committee consisting of seven legal
voters of the Town, who shall be appointed by the Moderator as hereinafter
provided. No elected or appointed officer or employee, other than
a member of the Personnel Board or the Capital Improvements Committee,
shall be eligible to serve on the Finance Committee.
The Moderator shall annually appoint members, whose term shall
be three years, so as to replace those whose terms have expired. All
terms of office shall commence immediately upon qualification and
shall expire at the close of the final adjournment of the Annual Town
Meeting of the year in which the term expires or until a successor
is appointed and qualified.
The Moderator shall fill, for the remainder of the term, any
vacancy that may occur in the membership of the Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee shall elect its own officers.
The members of the Finance Committee shall serve without pay,
except the Finance Committee may appoint one of its members to act
as a paid Clerk.
Members of the Finance Committee shall cause a true record of
its proceedings to be kept.
It shall be the duty of the Finance Committee annually to consider the expenditures in previous years and the estimated requirements for the ensuing year of the boards, officers, and committees of the Town, as prepared by them in such form and detail as may be prescribed by the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee shall add to such statement of expenditures and estimates another column, giving the amounts which in its opinion should be appropriated for the ensuing year, the method of financing, and shall further add thereto such explanations and suggestions relating to the proposed appropriations as it may deem expedient and report thereon as provided in §
25-7.
In the discharge of its duty, the Finance Committee shall have
the free access to all books of records and accounts, bills, and vouchers,
excluding those determined to be executive session records, on which
money has been received or paid to and from the Town Treasury, and
any other public records as defined in M.G.L. ch. 4, § 7(26).
Officers, boards, and committees of the Town shall, upon written request,
furnish the committee with facts, figures, public records, and any
other information within 10 days of the request.
It shall be the duty of the Finance Committee to make an annual
report of its activities, with recommendations relative to financial
matters and the conduct of Town business, to be contained in the Annual
Town Report.
The Finance Committee may employ clerical or other assistance,
to be paid from such funds as the Town may appropriate for the use
of the Finance Committee.